Today we’d like to introduce you to John Styron
Hi John, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
I’m an engineer by profession and have always been an admirer of imagination and creative design. I’m also an avid traveler and explorer by nature and desire. Since the time of my first memories after my birth here in San Antonio, I have been traveling (due primarily as a result of the movements of my military mom and dad). In addition to my parents, my uncle and godparent, had a huge impact on me. He was a military veteran and war hero, historian and lover of antiques and he influenced my life in more ways than I can think of. My uncle had an enormous antique watch and clock collection and he had it as my duty to wind the house clocks every Sunday morning. I considered this an honor and it gave me some personal time with each of the clocks, whether they were working properly or not! Over the years, I became a watch and clock collector myself and after pursuing my engineering career, I started buying and selling watches in addition to collecting them. I now have a website where I sell classic watches and also present some of my photography and poetry as well as results of my recent attempt at oil painting. I still have some unique antique clocks and occasionally I’ll buy and sell those. But I keep trying to learn more about watches, especially mechanical watches, and buy what I love sometimes with no intent to sell and other times with the potential to put them in my shop and get someone else hooked on my hobby!
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
The pursuit of doing what you love and doing it as a profession is never an easy thing. A lot of people think I’m crazy because I want to pursue so many interests. Because I simply don’t want to focus on just one. I’ve come to a point in my engineering career where I am just now starting my own business after many many failures, knock downs and road blocks. But it’s exciting and I’m growing. At that’s what I love most is to grow and learn. And with watches, I can learn about history and culture, art and engineering all at the same time. Still, I don’t have as much time as I like to devote to this aspect of my life but just keep learning. Some purchase I have made have been failure and others wise choices. I’ve learned you have to be vigilant, patient and then be able to move quickly on an opportunity if one comes up. The same goes for my engineering business. And for me, whether engineering a building, photographing nature or buying a watch, it’s about learning and making new friends and appreciating the past and also new technology all at the same time. Good customer service and relationships are the foundation for every success I find.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
I now have multiple businesses of my own. Styron Reyes Engineering, LLC, is a company I created this year with my friend of over 20 years. We have been through quite a few ups and downs together in life and we have also been let go or had things go astray with several of the companies we have worked for in our lives. But through all, we’ve created relationships and learned what to do and what not to do, so that ultimately when we took the risk of starting a firm, it was a calculated risk. So, my heart is in watches and watch collecting and selling but also in being an educator and collaborator with the design teams I work with. I think what sets me apart is focusing on relationships. I really try not to go after every project and every large firm to work with. I figure that good projects, even high profile and creative projects, will come in time if I focus on working with who I enjoy working with. This applies to my partners and employees as well as clients.
What matters most to you?
What matters to me is growth and creativity. I mean this in the very broad sense. I want to keep forming lasting relationships that help me learn and grow every day and I want to help others to learn and spread positivity along the way. I want to teach people (and when I can students at my university, The University of Texas at San Antonio where I guest lecture) how to communicate, problem solve, always look at multiple options or sides to a certain challenge and push themselves creatively. Beyond this I want to be a part of helping others in the community and wherever the opportunity presents itself. I try to consider this with my watch business and my engineering business. And I think creativity inspires creativity. So if I keep flexing my creative skills through photography or painting or learning an instrument, for example, I keep the creative fires building inside me and influencing the creativity of others.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.perfectpatrickpieces.com
- Instagram: perfectpatrickpieces
